he held the chair for her
she sat in the chair next to it
she held the door open for him
he pulled his hand back into his sleeve to receive her kindness with caution
he dropped his intention
she chose to pretend she hadn’t noticed
they reached out to give comfort to pain observed in the other
and were succinctly rejected
and so it went on
kindness thwarted
comfort dissuaded
touch withheld
a singularity more acute than known before
nurture verses nature
and winning